Equipment Drop

Teacher Su Ling closed the [Phoenix] UI section, needing a good rest. She had been in a spirit-exposed state for over two hours. The near-death experiences of repeatedly falling into the Gate of Death had left her exhausted.

Jiang Xueming retrieved the Yajin Armguard. He summoned his spirit and asked Fragrant Dream to repackage it and properly seal the limbs of the blood-bearing unit—the concentration of Spirit Calamity in this thing was extremely high, and for the two apprentice craftsmen, simply carrying it around was a heavy burden.

The steel cat reappeared, dismantling the bald gunsmith's baggage, taking out two tent-like plastic sheets, and re-weaving and sewing them to wrap the bloodied arm.

The moment its steel fingers touched the gold-plated gauntlet, Su Ling suddenly opened her eyes from her slumber—

--The eerie spiritual pressure fluctuations caused the gunsmith to instinctively cover his face with his arm.

"What's going on?!" Fragrant Dream cried out in alarm.

This was its first contact with Ya Jin; previously, Jiang Xueming had always wrapped this trophy in the tattered black robes of the enemy.

The dark golden mud surged from the arm armor to the Fragrant Dream iron armor, like wriggling caterpillars. They quickly crawled onto the SD's upper arm and couldn't be shaken off no matter how hard they tried!

Fragrant Dream felt a chill run down her spine. She tried to swat at the strange, vibrant metal, but her claws scraped against the shoulder and arm armor, creating sparks. However, the dark golden "insects" immediately changed course along her other arm and were impossible to shake off.

"SD! Return to my body!" Jiang Xueming shouted.

Without the support of the spirit, the Yajin Armor fell to the ground. It was like a fluid that kept changing shape. Originally, it had a hard, metallic texture, but after Fragrant Dream came into contact with it, it seemed to be roasted into soft iron mud by a raging fire.

Fragrant Dream tried to escape into its main body, its limbs and torso gradually dissipating into pure spiritual particles. The Ya Jin clinging to it did not give up and followed the magnetic storm airflow, rushing towards Jiang Xueming.

With quick reflexes, Teacher Su Ling immediately assembled the fragments of the [Phoenix] spirit body into the shape of an electric mosquito swatter, and swatted at the dozen or so golden "flesh worms".

However, instead of being stopped by the spirit, these gold particles, after being cut apart, turned into a thick mist and followed the Fragrant Dream into Jiang Xueming's body.

"Teacher" Fuyanni dared not speak loudly.

Billy couldn't understand what had happened either.

The golden arm armor was still wriggling on the blue brick platform at the alley entrance. As if after coming into contact with the Fragrant Dream, it had found a new host and was slowly moving sideways toward Jiang Xueming's location.

Xue Ming dared not make any rash moves, retreating little by little, completely unaware of what was happening. Previously, touching the Spirit Calamity contaminant directly with his limbs had not caused any abnormalities, but when Fragrant Dream touched it, these strange things began to occur.

"Is it that the BOSS's essence has some inexplicable attraction to the Original Seed?" Su Ling replaced the electric mosquito swatter with a baseball bat, detached the health bar from her head, and combined it with the bat. "Gunsmith? How are you feeling?"

Jiang Xueming didn't sense anything unusual. "I don't know. I dare not summon SD again; that thing seems very interested in Fragrant Dream."

The Yakin Armor has completely abandoned the arm of the Siming. It has transformed into an eight-legged reptile, resembling the adorable, fleshy worm that is White Lady. Meanwhile, the Chaos Egg lies forlornly to one side, beginning to emit a mournful howl—without energy support and having lost the Yakin Cradle, the POS machine is gradually being eroded by the Vita Imprint and is about to spew out a bright Red Flash Butterfly.

"Billy!" Jiang Xueming tossed a can of insecticide spray from his bag. This was the gunsmith's thrifty secret weapon for dealing with the harsh environment of the Xiabang rainforest.

Billy took a cigarette as a tinderbox, sprayed insecticide onto the Chaos Egg, and then lit a flame to disinfect it.

The matter isn't over yet.

--The armored gauntlets, constantly shifting on the ground, had completely lost their original shape.

It initially imitated the Chaos Egg, then the White Lady Worm, and finally transformed into the form of the BOSS, becoming a golden clay statue without eyes or a nose, with a pair of cat ears standing up.

Its body surface is smooth, with many water ripples moving back and forth. It doesn't move its limbs, but simply moves slowly sideways by relying on a fluid substance that resembles mud.

It was an extremely eerie feeling; no matter which direction the gunsmith went, it would slowly follow.

Teacher Su Ling swung her baseball bat, using the health bar to vigorously pound on this mysterious thing.

With a "BIAJI," it flew to the fishmonger's storage door, slowly slid down the wooden door, leaving no slime or residue, and continued its journey intact.

"SD!"

Waiting like this isn't going to work, so Jiang Xueming called out to the spirit again.

"Oh! Wow wow wow wow! Wow wow wow wow!"

The giant steel cat burst forth from the body, and when it saw its own form, it was terrified and completely lost its composure.

This suit of fine steel armor seems to be corroded; the sub-golden substance of the Original Seed is devouring SD's spirit!

"My armor! Oh my god!"

The once pure white fur was now covered in a layer of dark gold dust, and the armor developed pits, especially the two gauntlets of SD, where large chunks of iron filings were slowly falling off and disappearing.

The cat's paws and paw pads were exposed, its four toes no longer protected by their armor.

Fuyanni exclaimed in surprise, "So even the teacher's spirit has fleshy pads?"

"Crazy!" Billy pinched his brother's cheek. "Wake up! The situation is critical!"

"What the hell is this thing?!" Fragrant Dream cried out to its true form for help, "Gunsmith! Do something! Am I going to be eaten by this thing?!"

Teacher Su Ling had tried everything she could—fire, water, even physical attacks—but nothing could destroy the lump of gold. "What is it trying to do? Gunsmith? Your spirit is collapsing, don't you feel anything?"

According to the "Gate of Death effect" in the theory of spirits, once a spirit is damaged, the spiritual essence of the physical body, including the brain nerves and spinal nerves, as well as the bioelectric system of the organism, will be affected. However, the gunsmith felt nothing at all—it was as if the Fragrant Dream spirit armor no longer belonged to him.

"This thing was originally a ganglion of the Original Seed? Right?" The gunsmith confirmed the medium's true identity once again.

Su Ling browsed through the [Phoenix]'s image and text database again. "Yes."

The gunsmith said, "It wants to go to the Dreamland."

The dream realm created by Fragrant Dream is a unique space, completely different from Niflheim, the land of the dead, outside of the Netherworld and the Pure Realm.

Mr. Wood once said that countless demons and monsters were sealed within the gunsmith's body. Once the gunsmith died of old age, these spirits might come out and cause trouble again. Fragrant Dream, relying on the essence of the BOSS, rented a hardware server from Mother Earth to imprison the souls of these sinners.

Jiang Xueming deduced that these sub-golden beings were originally part of the Original Seed. After they completely lost control, they wanted to return to the embrace of the Original Seed and achieve reunification.

Neither the essence of the Siming nor the Chaos Egg could compare to the wondrous Spirit Realm constructed by Mother Earth.

Su Ling: "What do you want to do?"

There was no time to spare. Xue Ming couldn't kill one Lightning Star at a time, and he also had to keep the spirits away from these sub-golden beings. He had to move forward, or he wouldn't be able to catch Judas.

"SD! With me!"

He strode forward, summoning Fragrant Dream to his physical body, its spirit attaching itself to his skin while simultaneously pressing down on the mass of sub-golden matter.

Fragrant Dream's right arm was completely soaked in this dark golden mud, and her iron armor was shattered, revealing the cat's golden fur and shoulder and elbow joints.

It cried out, "Oh no! My armor!"

All of the Yajin surged into the Fragrant Dream spirit body, leaving it with only a half-body armor, its fur gradually turning yellow, almost turning into an orange cat.

"What do we do?! Gunsmith?" Fragrant Dream cried out in a panic, clutching her head, "Without the complete armor, I can't fly!"

It originally possessed supersonic explosive power.

"That keyhole in the chest! Only when it's filled can the Pankrasin resonance and harmony be produced!"

The keyholes in the breastplate had already been filled in the Pankrasin Palace, but now, under the corrosive effect of the akin substance, a terrifying pit had appeared.

"My helmet, waaaaah!~"

Fragrant Dream unveiled the iron plate on its forehead, and the knight's helmet turned into a tattered pot lid.

Su Ling: "A gunsmith?"

Jiang Xueming didn't reply; he finally sensed that something was wrong.

--While absorbing these gold-like substances, his heartbeat was stable, his blood pressure was normal, and there were no abnormalities.

The Fragrant Dream suddenly vanished, his head lolled to the side, and he fainted right in front of the students.

"Don't help him up!" Su Ling shouted.

Billy and Fuyanni were stuck halfway, still trying to help their teacher.

Su Ling: "Don't go near him! Don't go any closer!"

The sudden, terrifying spiritual pressure caused the three of them to retreat towards the alley entrance.

The fishmongers' street in Baibei Port, which used to have several guard dogs, is now barking frantically, as if sensing a natural disaster or earthquake and trying to break free of their leashes to escape.

The troughs and baskets became lively. The fish, who had lost their freedom, kept trying to emerge from their cocoons and jump onto the dry stone path, slowly losing their strength and slowly dying from the sun.

This violent spiritual pressure almost made Billy lose all his senses on the spot—he felt like he was going insane.

He could hear other people talking in his head. One moment it sounded like Brother Feng, who often delivered water to the workshop, and the next he was mimicking Red Sister's posture as she stood at the welcoming table. It seemed like he had a split personality on the spot. Grabbing Fuyanni's hand, he actually asked a puzzling question.

"Hey! Billy! What do we do? What's wrong with the teacher, Billy?!"

Fuyanni cried out in a frenzy, "You're Billy! Brother Billy! What are you talking about?!"

Su Ling dared not touch the gunsmith.

She had never felt this strange spiritual pressure before.

Compared to the varying concentrations of Spirit Calamity and different types of Inspiration Pressure in the various environments of the underworld, the Inspiration Pressure emanating from the gunsmith's body is more like an intrusive form of thought.

It has no boundaries; it's like an all-pervasive element that penetrates everywhere, like Universal Elixir that seeps into the depths of the soul as soon as it touches the skin!

Every living being involved, every individual capable of independent thought, began to have their thoughts run wild!

She could clearly sense Fuyanni's fear, and she could feel the chest pain Billy the Kid was experiencing due to his mental breakdown and high heart rate.

She seemed to smell a strange odor, perhaps the snuff from the fishmonger's hand at the street corner, or the bit from the donkey cart used for transporting goods!

Has she turned into a donkey? She dares not think about it.

If we go any further, this mental breakdown will become increasingly severe, and if this continues...

"Pfft!"

The sound of flesh shattering could be heard.

A bright green frog leaped out from the corner of the wall and landed on the unconscious gunsmith's back. The moment it jumped onto his back, it instantly turned into a lump of flesh! Its eyes turned into clear water, and then quickly melted away! It was as if a balloon had inflated and burst naturally!

The brick walls and grass around the alley entrance are growing wildly. They grow out and then immediately wither and die, turning into soft lichen and moss. Then, seeds sprout and take root!

Just then, sensing the change in spiritual pressure, the Blood-giving Monster that had been investigating clues at the White Shell Inn arrived.

As a vanguard soldier of the Star Lord of Siming, this fish-man officer arrived at the alley entrance with two attendants. Pushing aside Su Ling and Billy, he saw the unconscious bald monk in the alley and was overjoyed.

"This is the murderer that the Haoshou Tianzun Venerable is after!"

The vanguard ignored Su Ling and the others. There were no eyewitnesses at the Luo's Bathhouse, so naturally, the investigation couldn't trace it back to Su Ling.

Three merman soldiers were about to arrest someone, and Su Ling didn't dare to follow to stop them, because—

"--Pfft!~ Pfft!~"

The dull thud of the water bag bursting rang out once again!

These three living hybrids stepped into that strange spiritual pressure "deep water zone," and almost instantly their skulls split open, their bodies erupting with blood and flesh flowers, before turning into a pile of fleshy fluid, leaving only their clothes, accessories, weapons, and shoes.

It took about five minutes for the pressure to gradually subside.

These complex fish-man essences were gradually absorbed by the earth, turning into nutrients for lichens, mosses, and plants. The gunsmith's body, which had originally become very "soft," looked terrifying. He was almost assimilated by that strange sub-golden substance, and his head also seemed limp.

Gradually, he returned to normal and stood up, supporting himself.

Su Ling saw it clearly--

--The merman vanguard who came to investigate earlier had a gold medal in his arms, also made of sub-gold, used to restrain the spiritual medium of the elixir's power.

The gold medal transformed into a thin stream of water, flowing down the gunsmith's black monk's robe and into his navel. In the few seconds that Jiang Xueming was in a daze, it completely entered his body.

"A gunsmith! A gunsmith?!"

The spiritual pressure has completely dissipated.

Su Ling shouted loudly, "Gunsmith!? Can you hear me?"

Jiang Xueming blinked hard a few times.

The bloodshot in his eyelids quickly subsided, and the metallic substance in his pupils slowly returned to its normal brown color.

"I"

"I'm alright now."

"What happen?"

Su Ling: "I was really worried when you fainted. If anything happened to you, my silly student probably wouldn't want to live either."

Jiang Xueming clutched his head, feeling as if a drill was working inside his skull. "How long was I unconscious? I don't think I felt anything, and I didn't dream anything."

Su Ling: "Not long, about fifteen minutes."

"Continue the mission?" Jiang Xueming asked.

Su Ling: "First, summon Fragrant Dream to determine the spirit's state."

Jiang Xueming immediately shouted, "SD!"

A golden phantom emerged from the monk's robe, quickly solidifying into a physical form.

Fragrant Dream had changed into a brand new set of dark gold armor almost from head to toe. It looked in surprise at the tight-fitting armor that conformed to its fur and skin, and then saw a keyhole filled with white steel on its chest.

Jiang Xueming was so frightened that he swore, "Holy shit?"

The original Fragrant Dream knight's armor was relatively loose, but this set of gold armor was like a strange leather jacket, making the beastly lines of the steel cat's body particularly prominent.

"Changed skin?"

Fragrant Dream, on the other hand, was unsurprised and bent over to pull the original body up.

There was a problem with this hunched-over posture.

The portion of the spirit that was originally meant to fill the keyhole in the stainless steel block on its chest slid out due to gravity.

Su Ling: "Holy crap?!"

"Holy crap!" Billy exclaimed.

Fuyanni pulled out his phone and started frantically recording a video backup of the BOSS: "How can it still drop equipment?! BOSS! Look! Your UR card seems to be malfunctioning!"

Fragrant Dream was also startled by this change.

It quickly picked up the iron-like spirit and pressed it against its chest.

--Immediately afterwards, the lock cylinder and the round dial of the breastplate began to rotate together.